Ex-Bensenville employee on work-release after pleading guilty to theft

Tribune illustration

Tribune illustration

Clifford WardTribune reporter

A former Bensenville village employee was scheduled to begin serving a work-release jail sentence today after pleading guilty to stealing more than $44,000 in village fees and fines.

Norma Hernandez, who worked as a clerk with the west suburban village, was ordered to spend nights and weekends in the county jail for 180 days after pleading guilty to theft charges Friday, according to DuPage County court records.

Hernandez also was ordered to repay to Bensenville the money she was accused of stealing. The thefts occurred over a three-year period.

Hernandez, 50, was charged in September 2012, after the village discovered more than $5,000 missing from the Bensenville village vehicle fund, according to prosecutors. A further audit found about $40,000 missing from a towing fee fund.